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trumpetnista · 7 years ago

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CMW2/Trumpetnista: Safe (7/?)

Summary from FFN: NOW A WIP: She was Olivia Pope, not Alex Jones, not Julia Baker, and she was a mess;In this AU of 4x16, instead of Alex seducing Russell to feel alive again, Olivia decides on a better course of action, a course of action that starts with a phone call to Fitz;HEAVY SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 WITHIN;Rated for language, imagery, and later Olitz lovemaking;4th in my 2016 SSS Project

Teaser from Chapter 7: "Look, I know that I shouldn't have broken in but I've been worried about you. You won't take my calls. You won't answer my texts and when I tried to come see you at your office, I couldn't even get past the front door before Michael..."

"His name is Marcus."

"...stopped me. What did you tell him about me? What did you say to all of them?"

"Nothing other than if you came in, I didn't want to see you."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"...you and Fitz aren't going to last forever. You never do."

"Fitz has nothing to do with this. It's about you and the fact that you're not a good influence in my life. You're dangerous. You're unstable. You're B613. You're Rowan's puppet, his loyal little lapdog that he can order around at whim. You may think that you're free now, that he's forgotten all about you and maybe he has but I haven't. I know who you really are, Jake. I've seen who you really are and you are not someone that I want around me as a friend or as a lover, anymore. Now, I've got 5 more bullets and the next one is going in your head if you don't leave."

"You would kill me right now?"

"...not that head, Jake."

Disclaimer for the full story: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

"Fitz, what's going on? Why are you whispering?"

"I'm hiding in the Residence from Mellie. She thinks I'm still in the Oval."

"Are you seriously hiding from your wife?"

"Olivia, she is drunk off moonshine, eating fried shrimp, and she's singing showtunes...butchering showtunes and... the last time she drank like this, she actually asked me to have sex with her on the dining room table and I just... yes, I'm seriously hiding from my wife. I'm scared and hiding and I'm waiting for her to pass out."

"You poor, poor soul...should I send some earplugs? Gettysburger? An Exorcism kit?"

"...you're not funny."

"I'm funnier than you."

Fitz's laughter was warm in her ear and she sighed, walking towards her office windows. She could see the White House in the distance, brightly lit and beautiful. Fitz had once referred to it as the Crown Jewel of the American Prison System and that label had merit. Yes, the White House was beautiful. Yes, being the President of the United States was a great honor, the pinnacle of Power but it changed everything.

There was no true privacy. Everywhere a President went, there were Agents, staff, members of the Press around. There was always a bubble. A President couldn't just go grocery shopping or just go and get a new phone without a big to-do. There were always schemers around, people who would stab you in the back just to get a slightly bigger piece of the pie. Every person had to be vetted. No one, not even family could be trusted.

It was one of the most noble and truly one of the loneliest Jobs in the world.

And if it wasn't the President themselves being targeted, it was their loved ones.

Gerry Grant had been murdered by Rowan because of his connection to Fitz, his connection to her. Karen Grant had been recorded and blackmailed while under the influence, while having sex because she was the President's daughter. The conspiracy to kidnap her had been in the name of the Presidency. Andrew Nichols and Elizabeth North had wanted the Power by any means necessary. Rowan had wanted Power and revenge for a perceived unreasonable slight against him. Fitz hadn't done anything wrong. Gerry hadn't done anything wrong. Karen hadn't done anything wrong and Olivia was growing to accept that she hadn't done anything wrong, either. She hadn't been the one to murder Gerry Grant, to put the sick idea into Rowan's mind. She hadn't asked to be kidnapped. She didn't deserve to be kidnapped, despite all the things she had done.

It wasn't her fault.

Not every bad thing that happened was her fault.

It was not her fault and it certainly wasn't Fitz's fault, despite what she had screamed to the contrary.

To monsters like Rowan, it wasn't about people, not as more than pieces on their chess boards.

It was all about hoarding & abusing Power. It was all about creating Legacies that they could leech off of. It was all about soothing their malignant egos, regardless of who or what was destroyed...

"If it helps, she didn't really lose by a large margin. She had good numbers. She could try again in a few years, maybe even sooner. Seats open up all of the time and once you're out of Office..."

"You know she doesn't care about any of that."

"What? Facts?"

"You might be hearing from her soon, Livvie. She made it pretty clear who she blames for this."

"You, me, Cyrus, God, Satan, the weather, the Patriarchy, a random passerby who just couldn't get to the Voter's Booth and secure her rightful place in history..."

Fitz snickered and she continued unrepentantly, "She can blame me and the World all she wants. I don't care. I told her that I wasn't going to help her. I told her that my helping her would be seen as nothing more than nepotism and that she needed to wait, build up her own political capital, and come up with a more approachable image. She didn't want to. She didn't want to put the work in. She wanted to cut corners. She wanted everyone to do the heavy lifting for her and give her cue cards so she could reap the benefits, just like before. I was right to say no and she was right to lose."

"Consider it Handled."

"Exactly."

"Are you still at the office?"

"Not for much longer. I wanted to help with the paperwork. You know how it is. Get rid of one stack..."

"...and three more appear. How is Quinn working out as Second in Command?"

"It's good. It's really good, Fitz...I'm glad that she stayed. She had every right to leave."

"OPA is her home. You and your Gladiators are home for her."

Olivia nodded and sighed again, looking wistfully at 1600 Penn...

"I wish I was there with you or that you were here with me."

"You really don't want to be here right now, Liv. She's gone from showtunes to Dolly Parton. Poor Jolene..."

She laughed and replied, "That's not what I meant and you know it, Mister."

"...I know. It'll happen, Livvie. We'll make it happen."

"I hope so. Well, tomorrow night, if you're still alive, I'd love to hear from you. Just don't make 23 people have to stay, okay?"

"All right. Bye, Liv."

"...bye."

It was still a bit of a novelty to be leaving OPA at a reasonable hour. By the time she got to her apartment, it would be a little past 8PM instead of midnight or in the pre-dawn hours. She would be able to watch live TV if she wanted to. She could watch actual, non DVR'd TV shows instead of the news, infomercials, or porn. She wouldn't feel strange about cooking or ordering in at an odd hour. She would be able to go to her apartment and actually relax.

She had taken some of the weight of the world off of her shoulders. Olivia was still The Fixer, the go-to for help when it hit the fan, but it wasn't all on her. It had never been all on her but she was accepting help now, allowing herself to trust and delegate...

…but never drop her guard.

Exiting the elevator, Olivia could see that her apartment door was slightly ajar. It wasn't supposed to be ajar. She had locked it before she left and she wasn't expecting company. Huck was at his Veteran's Group therapy session with Quinn supporting him. Marcus was meeting with some representatives from Jack and Jill, trying to get their support behind adding classes to teach inner city youth about their Rights. Abby was at the White House. She had texted her earlier about Cyrus' latest antics and the ongoing battle for the Brandon Bill. She had just talked to Fitz and as much as she wished that he was inside her place right now, he wasn't. He was hiding from Mellie in what sounded to be a walk-in closet, possibly a bathroom like last time.

That didn't leave many options left for who could be inside.

The options she had to choose from were all bad.

Slowly, she set her bag down and pulled out her Colt .45, fighting through the icy fear that was creeping down her spine. Whoever was in her place had to go. Whether they would run for it or she would have to put a bullet in them before calling the police remained to be seen. She was licensed to carry and even though there were no signs of a robbery in progress, it wouldn't take much to...

Shaking her head, she made sure the gun was loaded before sliding out of her heels. If she had to run or hide, she didn't want anything slowing her down. Seeing movement, she pushed the door open and raised the gun. As soon as the person turned around, she undid the safety, the icy fear replaced with hot rage.

"Get the hell out!"

"Liv..."

"Get out of my apartment, Jake. Now."

"You won't shoot..."

A vase behind him shattered and she quickly loaded another bullet, thankful for the silencer.

"You broke in here after I told you to leave me alone. I can and will shoot you. Get out."

"I'm not the enemy here, Olivia! I brought you some dinner and..."

"I'm not hungry. Take the food and go. This is the last time I'm going to say it."

"Look, I know that I shouldn't have broken in but I've been worried about you. You won't take my calls. You won't answer my texts and when I tried to come see you at your office, I couldn't even get past the front door before Michael..."

"His name is Marcus."

"...stopped me. What did you tell him about me? What did you say to all of them?"

"Nothing other than if you came in, I didn't want to see you."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"...you and Fitz aren't going to last forever. You never do."

"You would kill me right now?"

"...not that head, Jake."

"Olivia..."

"Leave and if I find any cameras in here or any of my things tampered with..."

"You're paranoid. You need to get some help."

"I am getting help. You just can't benefit from it. Leave!"

Jake flinched as a pillow exploded in feathers behind him and headed for the door, deliberately leaving the food on the counter. Although he was acting like he had made her a 5 course meal, it was Gettysburger and imported beer. The Gettysburger she didn't really mind but she hated beer. He knew that! He also knew that breaking in would make her uncomfortable, possibly trigger a full on panic attack but he didn't care. He was feeling scorned, feeling childish so he had pushed as many buttons as he could to get her attention.

He had gotten her attention but Olivia was certain that Jake had imagined a far different outcome.

He only cared about her when she was saving his fat from the fire or fucking him to forget.

Unless she was doing that, she was nothing to him, regardless of what he said.

His actions were his Truth.

Had he always been this immature?

As soon as he was in the vestibule, she slammed the door in his face and listened closely. He could decide to wait her out. He could decide to come back later, while she was sleeping and...

"Damn it!"

From the sound of it, Jake had punched the doors of the elevator as they closed and she was relieved that the fist hadn't touched her. Jake had pushed and choked her before. He had concussed her and pushed her into a puddle of glass shard filled water. He had pinned her to the wall by her throat in broad daylight. Punching her would be the next logical step in abusing her.

Some of their conversations involved manipulation on both of their ends. Nowadays, they ended with him yelling at her, judging her like the hypocrite he was or trying to derail her healing. Jake was dangerous. On more than one occasion, he had proven to be dangerous, lacking in humanity. Essentially, Jake Ballard (or whatever his real name was) was nothing more than a broken, rabid beast in human skin.

The fact that she had known all of that and yet still allowed him to touch her, be inside of her, and to be around her family & friends was even more proof of how disturbed she had become. How much farther would she have fallen had she not reached out to Fitz that night? If she had gone through with being Alex Jones, how much worse off would she be?

She didn't want to think about it.

She didn't want to think about hating herself and those around her that much.

Opening the door, she grabbed her bag and quickly went back inside, turning all of her locks. Jake had broken in. Only she and Huck had the keys. Huck wouldn't turn his over to Jake without her express say-so, a say-so that he'd never get again. As a matter of fact, she was tempted to call Huck and tell him what happened but that idea was quickly shelved. Part of delegating was allowing her people to have lives outside of the job. Yes, there was a rule that everyone had to be reachable and that after a certain amount of time, there was to be a search party formed.

What happened to Harrison, what Rowan had done to Harrison had been unavoidable but if she had followed the rule, if she had been thinking about more than herself, then Harrison's body would've been found sooner. However, it was no longer all about Fixing for herself or her People. And Huck was doing something at the moment to help himself get better. Olivia was not going to hinder that. That wouldn't be fair.

Still, something decisive had to be done about Jake Ballard.

It could wait until the morning.

For now, she had trash to throw out and a mess to clean up.

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